Many of us start talking to ourselves when we are children. Speaking out loud and directing internal conversation at yourself is more intelligent (and less crazy) than you might think.
Why do people talk to themselves in the first place? If you imagine speaking to someone else to provide them with direction, speaking to yourself works in the same way. There are many reasons for self-directed speech, though most are reminding yourself to focus on what you’re doing. From looking for a pair of keys to shopping for a particular item in the supermarket, self-talk is all over the place.
Science explains self-talk
Directed internal (or external) thinking processes are significant because this behavior allows people to find things quicker, according to a study conducted by Gary Lupyan and Daniel Swingley. They found that you can enhance your visual system to detect an item by hearing the name of the item. Thus, when you talk out loud, you’re essentially cueing your system to get ready to perform better.
The goal of the study was to see if self-directed talk has an effect on what you visually process. This was done by giving 26 undergraduates (50% male, 50% female) search tasks in a complex supermarket display. Lupyan concluded that hearing the name of the items actually assists with visual perception. Simply hearing the name of the item helped participants find the items better as opposed to only thinking about them.
It was found that you can cue your visual system to detect items better. Participants in the study had to look for common objects. The more the word was spoken aloud differentiated from the object the participant was looking for, performance worsened. If precise labels were given, the participant’s performance improved.
Those little conversations you’ve had with yourself have been helping you all along. Next time you’re looking for something, speak out loud and test if you found it faster than normal. Want to increase your brain function? Make your brain perform better and do your bidding more easily by simply talking to yourself. The research suggests that doing it until it comes naturally to you will help you complete goals and tasks.
The positive results of self-talk
You’ve heard it before. There are so many benefits to visualizing what you’re looking to achieve. Things tend to go more according to plan if you’ve mapped out the plan in your mind beforehand. Seeing the goal accomplished in the mind’s eye actually helps you manifest it in daily life. Now you have more reasoning behind your daydreaming, it’s an early stage of the creation process.
Visualize objects so you can actually see them better through your eyes. Being able to visualize an object helps you physically see it better.
The previous study summarized, “Speaking facilitated search, particularly when there was a strong association between the name and the visual target. As the discrepancy between the name and the target increased, speaking began to impair performance.”
This indicates that if you’re searching for coffee online, for example, and you begin thinking about cell phones, this is going to render your search much more ineffective. You may think, “Of course, think about what you’re looking for while you’re looking.” However, you know how the mind can drift to other thoughts. Having internal focus can be a challenge for anyone. Luckily, simply speaking out loud will help you perform better.
How can you best use self-talk in your life?
Start talking to yourself! Are you having the most important conversations in life with yourself first? Talk to yourself through an interview, sales call, or conversation with your significant other. Science is on your side. Going through this simple exercise is worth your while. Though it may seem elementary, self-talk is actually high-level preparation and focus.
Featured photo credit: VIKTOR HANACEK via picjumbo via picjumbo.com
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